Whether or not she gains clarity in her decision by the time she steps on to the court, there is no going back. Williams, a 14-time Wimbledon champion across the women\u2019s singles, women\u2019s doubles\u00a0and mixed doubles competitions, and a two-time Olympic gold medallist on these grounds during London 2012, will return to Centre Court on Tuesday afternoon to face Australia\u2019s Maya\u00a0Joint in her first singles match since \u201cevolving away\u201d from competitive play following her exit\u00a0from the 2022 US Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n As she worked hard on the court to get her singles game up to speed and pondered making her return at Wimbledon with no singles warm-up tournament, Williams realised she simply could not miss the opportunity: \u201cIt\u2019s not every day\u00a0Wimbledon holds a wildcard for someone,\u201d she says. \u201cI can name\u00a0probably a handful of people.\u00a0I happened to be one of those people. I thought: \u2018I should really take this opportunity.\u2019 Who knows if I\u2019ll ever make it here again? This could be it.<\/p>\n \u201cI was like: \u2018What\u2019s wrong with me, Serena? What are you thinking? Are you nuts?\u2019 Like: \u2018You really should do this.\u2019 People live to be an athlete. I have this great opportunity to showcase what I do, what I do best, I suppose. I think ultimately I was like: \u2018That is pretty cool, so I should do it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n At 20, Joint is nearly 25 years Williams\u2019s junior and she is also 40\u00a0years younger than Williams\u2019s oldest ever opponent, the 1966\u2011born Larisa Savchenko. As an unseeded player, Williams could have been drawn against anyone, including first and second seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Elena\u00a0Rybakina, but she has received a reasonable first-round draw in Joint. While the Australian is one of the more talented young players\u00a0on the tour, a champion on grass at Eastbourne last year<\/a>, she has been stuck in a sophomore slump this year, losing 13 of her past\u00a014 matches.<\/p>\n Serena Williams has been training with far more players than she ever has done to prepare for her first singles competition since 2022. Photograph: Tom Jenkins\/The Guardian<\/p>\n It is not even clear if Williams herself truly knows what is motivating her to return, but she is keeping her expectations low. Rather than misguidedly describing her comeback as an attempt at winning her 24th grand slam title, Williams says this is an opportunity to truly enjoy her time as a professional tennis player, something that wasn\u2019t as possible when she put herself under so much pressure to rack up major titles: \u201cMy feelings will be different,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cMy expectations are definitely different for the first time in my career. My feelings are just \u2013 not that I never enjoyed it before, or else I wouldn\u2019t be here today \u2013 but I feel like I\u2019m really going to enjoy being out there.\u201d<\/p>\n During her years away from competitive play, Williams happily watched tennis and followed the development of younger players. She names Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva as competitors she has particularly enjoyed following. It was Andreeva who, during her own press conference, comically explained how nervous she was about the prospect of drawing Williams in the opening round. Williams views this as a sign that potential opponents fear her: \u201cIt\u2019s like the big four coming back. I mean, Novak [Djokovic] is still here, but no one would want to play them in their first round. I can\u2019t think of anyone that would want to do that.<\/p>\n
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